A Children’s Crisis Center is planned at 5300 Soquel Ave., Live Oak in the same complex as the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local)

Last updated: March 2024

Project name: Children’s Crisis Center

Location: 5300 Soquel Ave., Live Oak

Status

  • Construction on a crisis stabilization center started in February 2024 and is expected to finish in the summer of 2025. A residential unit is expected to be built by winter 2025.
  • The County of Santa Cruz bought the building in April 2023.
  • The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved a $7.9 million purchase of 5300 Soquel Ave. at its Dec. 13, 2022 meeting. 

The California Health Facilities Finance Authority awarded $7.6 million to the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency for the project. Money came from the authority’s Investment in Mental Health Wellness for Children and Youth Grant Program, county staff said.

Project description

The facility will be a mental health crisis treatment center for children and youths age 17 and younger. The ground floor will have space for eight children or teens to receive care. The second floor will accommodate up to 16 children and teens for stays for up to 10 days or potentially longer in a “home-like” setting, Santa Cruz County Supervisor Manu Koenig wrote in a statement.

Construction of the facility entails an interior demolition and renovation of the 30,220-square-foot, two-story building.

Developer

The County of Santa Cruz is the developer.

The County of Santa Cruz purchased a two-story building at 5300 Soquel Ave. in April 2023 for $7.9 million. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local)

A rendering of a proposed crisis stabilization center for children and youth in Live Oak.

Renderings show potential designs for a crisis stabilization center in the same complex as the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office on Soquel Avenue in Live Oak. (County of Santa Cruz)

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